Burglary, trespass lead to lock out

MONTE VISTA—Marsh Elementary School students were held after school on Monday afternoon as police officers from around the Valley searched for a potentially armed burglar.

Students from the high school and Metz Elementary, who live near Marsh, are transported by bus to Marsh school and then walk home after school each day. Due to the danger posed by a potentially armed individual nearby, those students and Marsh students were instead only released to their parents or guardians.

Monte Vista Police Chief James Grayson said the school handled the lock out very well. He applauded their efforts to gather information and cooperate with the police to ensure that students were safe. He said, “They erred on the side of caution.”

Police responded to an afternoon call on the 200 block of Lyell Street, near the school, where a homeowner had found two men in his backyard. The homeowner had been away from him house since Friday and come home to find electronics and a rifle missing. When he saw the two men in his yard, he told police that he believed one of them may have been armed.